Tag: Cinnamon Rollers

#BAKEITBETH

If you are just now discovering #BAKEITBETH, let me fill you in on what it is and how it led to these amazing cinnamon rollers this past week. #BAKEITBETH is a challenge that brings free and delicious baked goods into your life; even better, they are sweets that YOU choose! Sounds too good to be true? It’s not.

Have you ever seen a picture on Pinterest and thought, “That looks easy! I could TOTALLY make that!” Then, halfway through the recipe, you realize… this is not going well; only to have your fears confirmed in the end, joining many a Pinterest fails. This is where I come in to help. #BAKEITBETH has been created to walk you through a recipe and steer you away from common mistakes with tutorials and helpful tips & tricks. Each week on Friday morning, Sweet Creations by Beth randomly selects a winner for the week, who will be the recipient of these delicious treats.

So, how do you enter? Great question! Simply find a picture on Instagram and send a direct message to @sweetcreations_bybeth with the hashtag #bakeitbeth. If you don’t know how to direct message on Instagram, see the helpful diagram I’ve created above! ☺️ This will enter you in for that week’s drawing. You may enter as many times as you like. Didn’t win this week? Don’t be disheartened, hold your head up high and enter again for next week… you’re bound to win eventually!

Interested in a particular recipe? Keep an eye out for tutorials and tips & tricks on the blog! More often than not, I will combine multiple recipes together, provide links to those recipes, and give you ways to succeed before starting the recipe.

Now, for the main event this week… Cinnamon Rollers!

For this recipe, I stuck with the classic Pioneer Woman cinnamon rolls recipe and another gem I quickly found on Pinterest for the cream cheese filling. Here are some quick tips on mastering this somewhat daunting task:

1. Don’t Triple This!

First off, I will say that I made TWO triple batches of cinnamon rolls… looking back, I think, or rather KNOW this was a mistake. The original recipe yields 8 cinnamon rolls, so, I figured 24 seemed better, and if I offer them to the world, I may need more than 24! My logic was sound. I felt good about this decision… that was until my dough started spilling out of not only the original pot used, but the second larger pot needed once I realized how much the dough expands after adding the yeast. 😳

2. Make Dough In Advance

It’s always a good idea to read a recipe in its entirety before trying to tackle it. In this case, you can make the dough a day (or even two) before. In fact, you SHOULD make this the day before your cinnamon roller consuming desires must be met. This dough needs lots of time to cool, (about an hour) and rise (an additional hour) before you are free to refrigerate it. Additionally, the cream cheese filling must be made in advance and plopped into the freezer for about an hour! Have I mentionedthat being a baker requires LOTS of patience?!

*note: while making the filling, I used less milk in my recipe to speed up the freezing process. You’ll want this pretty solid to create a good base for wrapping the strips of dough around.

3. Work Fast-ish

Once you have a hankerin’ for cinnamon, sugar, and buttery goodness, grab half the dough and roll it out on a lightly floured surface. You’ll want to work quickly from here on out because the dough will start to rise and be squished by your working fingers as you roll up these yummy treats… hence the previous tip to “grab half the dough.” Once the dough is rolled out, spread evenly with a thin layer of melted butter, and sprinkle generously with sugar and cinnamon. Now, you can either roll the dough (horizontally) to make cinnamon rolls… or use a pizza cutter and slice a gazilion strips in preparation for the ROLLERS!!

The way I decided to do this was to fold the dough in half before slicing. This not only made things cleaner for my pizza cutter, it made the rolling process go faster having the dough already doubled… but, to each his own.

Now, if you would like a cream cheese filling, scoop ½ Tablespoon of the frozen filling into your hand and begin wrapping individual slices over it, in alternating directions. Your goal here is to cover the filling pretty well so it doesn’t fully escape during the baking process. If you would rather not deal with the messy filling, go ahead and grab a strip that has been doubled, make a knot to get the ball rolling… haha (I couldn’t resist, sorry), then use single strips to complete the look of the cinnamon roller.

Place these on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and let sit for 20-30 minutes to rise. Once these have risen, bake at 375° for 14-15 minutes, or till golden brown. Transfer to cooling rack and drizzle with icing. ( I used powdered sugar and a splash of milk till the right consistency was reached, but now that I think about it, you should use the Pioneer Woman’s maple frosting, I’ve heard of it’s magical powers!)

3. Tasting Time

That’s it! Congratulations, you’ve made a seemingly difficult recipe look easy! You are a pro, a master in the kitchen… you can do anything now! I hope these tips helped! Please let me know if you get stuck on a certain step, I’m happy to help and solve any problems you may come across.